Dram Shop Cases

An August 2009 head-on car crash that left two dead in Bethany, near Beaverton, is the subject of a suit brought under Oregon’s dram shop laws, according to an article published last week in The Oregonian.

The Oregon dram shop suit has been brought by the family of Thai Hoang-Williams, who died as a result of a head-on collision with Belinda Lopez, who also died in the Oregon car crash. Lopez’s car crossed the centerline to strike Hoang-Williams’ vehicle. At the time, police blamed speed for the accident, but a private investigator hired by Hoang-Williams’ family also found that Lopez had been drinking heavily at a nearby restaurant, Chen’s Dynasty, shortly before the accident.

According to the newspaper, the Oregon wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Chen’s Dynasty shares responsibility for the accident with Lopez herself because it allegedly continued to serve her alcohol after she was drunk. This claim, according to the newspaper, is based on toxicology reports that were not released publicly at the time of the crash, but which show Lopez to have been significantly over the legal limit for blood alcohol at the time of the accident.

A Multnomah County man convicted in a drunk driving incident that seriously injured two pedestrians has already been sentenced to nearly six years in prison, but faces additional time behind bars if he refuses to cooperate with a related Oregon dram shop law case pending in civil court, according to The Oregonian.

The newspaper reports that Dallas Lawrence, now 25, struck two women after he left a bar while clearly drunk last February. His Oregon drunk driving conviction in the criminal case growing out of the incident is separate from the potential Portland dram shop law case focused on the bar that allegedly continued to serve Lawrence. That case turns on the allegation that the bar allowed Lawrence to get into his car and drive off into the night despite being so drunk that, according to The Oregonian, he “fell off his bar stool” before heading out to the parking lot.

The paper reports that Lawrence’s two victims have not yet filed suit against the bar where he spent the evening drinking. Lawrence faces an additional 2-1/2 years in prison if he does not cooperate, should a suit go forward.

Articles Posted in Dram Shop Cases

Fatal Beaverton-area Car Crash Raises Dram Shop Issues

Oregon Dram Shop Law Hangs Over Head of Convicted Portland Drunk Driver